The Bet
by CsillaDream
Summary: Magnolia is hosting it's very first ever fair. With games and prizes, and of course, rides. What'll happen when Gray Bet's Natsu he can't go on all the rides without getting sick? Story Collab with mosherocks4


**Hi~ Yes, another NatGray written by yours truly AND the awesome Kris (mosherocks4);; she asked me if I wanted to do a story collab with her and this is what was born~ =w=;; 'Cause we love this pairing &want to infect all the non-lovers of this pairing with their fever (pfft~)**

I sighed; today would be a long day for sure… Magnolia was hosting its first ever carnival! Everyone seemed excited, chatting animatedly about what rides they were going to get on. I was standing waiting for the others to show up; "They're late," I muttered under my breath irritated that even Erza, of all people was late.

I lifted my head to glance around, catching the sight of scarlet red hair which could only mean one thing: Erza was heading my way; out of the corner of my eye I could see something also heading in my direction that caught my attention… well, more like sprinting in my direction… and that something looked familiarly like Natsu dragging Lucy by the wrist… _Wait, if he's sprinting then that means—_

I was interrupted when I felt the wind getting knocked out of me twice… First when Natsu's body collided with mine and then again when Lucy fell on top of us.

"Oh, I see you're all here… Sorry I was late," Erza approached us; I glanced up at her wondering if she was really that dense that she couldn't figure out how this pile-up happened.

"Gomen~ Gray…" Lucy apologized after she got up.

"It's fine… it's **his** fault anyways… So why were you late anyways? You **were** the one who wanted to come so badly after all…" I asked her, fighting the urge to glare at her considering she was the few who knew—

"It doesn't matter! Let's have some fun!" Lucy interrupted me with a sly smirk on her face as she pulled Natsu along by the wrist towards a ride to a roller coaster.

"Lucy… Not that ride—" I heard him whine before I decided to interrupt.

"Why don't we make a bet Natsu?" I said slyly. Natsu, Lucy and Erza looked at me suspiciously.

"A bet?" Natsu raised a brow. "What kind of bet?"

I was mentally laughing to myself. I could make anything happen. I knew he'd lose no matter what. That's what you call 'knowing your enemy'.

"You have to ride all the rides here without getting sick…" I looked him straight in the face. I knew he was boiling more than usual underneath and it made me happy. Finally he was the one being tormented.

"G-Gray, isn't that kind of unfair?" Lucy whispered in my ear. I ignored her. Sure it was unfair, but that was the point.

"What's the prize if I win?" Natsu spoke finally after a few moments of thinking.

"Anything you want…" I put on a more serious face. I could feel Lucy staring daggers at me, but again I ignored her.

"Gray, what's with the sudden competition? I thought I told you two to get along…" Erza glared at me.

I ignored her too. A bad idea, yes, but it was worth it to watch Natsu stare at all the large fast moving rides with horror in his vision.

"What do you get if you win?" Natsu stopped looking at the rides.

"Are you worried you're going to lose Natsu?" I tormented further.

"Heck no! I was just curious…" Natsu trailed off, taking his eyes off me and putting them somewhere, anywhere else than on me.

"I accept your bet then." Natsu grinned evilly. I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw his face. I shook off the feeling though, because I had more important matters to deal with. Making sure Natsu loses.

First up on the torture list: the swings… I know it's not much of a ride but still… I'm not **entirely** evil; I smirked, "Let's start with this one,"

I knew Natsu would soon be regretting taking on this bet (if his pride would even allow it); I glanced a couple times over at him checking on his progress as we waited in line getting closer and closer to the ride. I could see him shaking a little; his cobalt eyes already wide with fear. I was already avoiding the deadly glares from our two best friends.

"I-I change my mind…" I stopped in my tracks, unsure I had heard him right; _was Natsu admitting defeat already?_

"Aww~ Are you okay, scared-cat?" I teased him, enjoying the immediate reaction.

"No way!"He huffed, brushing past me causing my heart to pick up its pace for a moment.

I chuckled softly erasing all love-related thoughts as I took a seat beside the already queasy fire mage; _I hope he doesn't puke on anyone…_

I looked over my shoulder to see who was behind us; a couple girls sat about ten seats away so I shrugged it off, figuring they'd be okay. We strapped ourselves in; I was actually surprised to see Natsu had already strapped himself and was actually beginning to gain the natural color in his face. _Maybe… He'll win this bet._

As the ride began, I concluded it was better that I put Natsu on the easy-to-handle rides rather than the ride Lucy was dragging him towards which included the 'Zipper' and the 'Drop Zone'. I glanced over to Natsu, expecting to see him with his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting; sure enough he was but he really looked like he was trying to force himself to overcome it... _As long as he doesn't puke, he hasn't lost... yet..._

The ride was over a lot faster than I had originally planned, but no worries, there were still many rides left to go.

"Ha! That was as easy as pie!" Natsu shouted as he wobbled off the ride and to the exit, where Lucy and Erza were standing.

"How was it Natsu?" Lucy greeted him. Natsu grinned with happiness.

"Simple, what's next?" Natsu eyed me. I glanced around at all the rides and decided.

"The scrambler." Natsu gave me a sideway look. I figured it meant he didn't know what that was, so I pointed to the ride. He watched as the small buckets, which held the people, spun around and around, fast. I walked up to him and he slowly turned his head in my direction.

"T-That it? N-no problem…" I laughed, and Lucy sighed.

"Gray…Do you have to do this?"

"Well, its Natsu's choice if he wants to give up, he can. I'm not forcing him on these rides."

"Give up? I don't know the meaning of the words!" Natsu yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Erza shook her head.

"Hey Lucy, Erza how about you two join us?" Natsu gave an evil smile.

"Of course we'll go on with you Natsu." Lucy gave him a warm smile and he put his arms around the two girls. I felt a pain in the stomach. Jealousy? Yes. But no matter, he'd lose and I'd be the one to get what I want. I was determined to win this bet as much as Natsu wished he hadn't accepted.

"Time to stop talking and to start getting on the rides. The lines aren't getting any shorter you know." I heard the jealousy in my voice, but it wasn't enough for Natsu to notice and I don't think the girls did either.

We walked over to the line, which was a little longer than I was hoping for, but it was good too. It gave Natsu time to watch the ride and get scared. Which was exactly what I wanted. The quicker he lost the better.

"Hey Natsu, scared yet?" I leaned over to say into Natsu ear. He shivered at the sudden break in his thoughts.

"M-Me? S-Scared? Not a c-chance!" He stuttered.

"Whatever you say…But watch at how fast the ride goes, and it spins around and around and around…" I trailed off as Natsu watched the ride with wide eyes. He gulped.

"Gray, what are you doing! That's foul play!" Lucy cut in. I waved her off.

"I never said it was against the rules…" I smirked. She rolled her eyes.

The line moved slowly, but we eventually made it to the front. The man who was in charge of the ride pushed us through the gate and said it was two to a seat. Erza was already sitting in one bucket and Natsu hesitated as people piled into the other buckets.

"What's wrong Natsu?" I asked as I walked past him.

"Natsu, sit with me?" Lucy pulled on his arm and they sat in a bucket together. I felt the jealousy rise again, but I pushed it aside.

"Gray, hurry up the ride is going to start soon." Erza shot a glare at me. I sighed and joined her.

I looked around at all the buckets and Lucy and Natsu were two buckets ahead of us. I couldn't watch him from here, but it didn't matter because I knew he'd do everything to stop himself from losing. Which meant I'd have to get him on bigger rides, as much as I didn't want to, it was necessary to win.

After what seemed like an eternity of trying to make Natsu lose (which he hasn't yet!), I decided to stop for a bit to think. Glancing around at the rides around me, we had already gone on many of them… Tilt-a-Whirl; Fun House (I thought Natsu might crack when he reached the end of it); the baby Dragon coaster; and the haunted house ride (yeah I know but it was the movement I was hoping would make him lose). I was getting irritated that no matter how many rides regardless of the pace he didn't throw up!

I was sitting on a bench, drinking a lemonade watching as Loki (who had suddenly shown up) and Lucy riding the Merry-go-Round together. A sting of jealousy as my eyes swept over to Natsu who was ordering himself some food at a nearby stand. _This is harder than I thought it would be…You'd think a guy that gets motion sickness would eventually Pu—_ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my next ride on the 'Let's Make Natsu Puke So I Can Force Him onto The Ferris Wheel' list…

"Hey fire-brain… If you can make through one more ride without puking: You win the bet." I challenged him, knowing fully-well he wouldn't turn it down.

"You're on!" He was getting fired up; _perfect!_

I led him over to the Bumper Cars; luckily for my plan: there wasn't many in line earning me an easier time to make Natsu jolt inside his car. We took our places inside one of the cars; I tightened my hands on the wheel prepared to slam into Natsu's car the moment the ride started. I saw Natsu's face scrunch up the moment I slammed into him; the kids also riding the ride decided that they would slam into us together! Well as many of you can imagine, all those cars hitting us at the same time causing a huge jolt to hit Natsu and mine's car, what happened next…

Natsu lost to me…

Natsu puked…

Natsu puked on** me!**

"Alright, that's enough! Rides over!" The man who was in charge of the ride hollered at all of us. The kids who had been hitting cars with Natsu and I all jumped out of their seats and headed towards the exit. Natsu however was slouched over, holding his stomach. I felt a shot of pain through my heart. I didn't want to make Natsu sick, but it was the only way to get time.

"Hey, you two okay?" The ride keeper had run over to us and was no helping Natsu out of his car.

"Yeah, we'll be okay, thanks." I took Natsu from the man and helped him over to the gate. I lead Natsu to the nearest garbage can and he puked up a couple more times. I stayed quiet as Natsu did his business, but when he was done he was all over me.

"Alright ice freak. What is it you want?" Natsu's tone was bitter. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and I couldn't help but watch and feel my heart beat pick up.

"I want you to go on a ride with me."

Natsu's expression changed from annoyed to pissed. He looked like he was ready to rip off someone's head...Probably mine.

"You...Want me...To go on a ride with you! I've been on every single flipping ride there is here! With you!" Natsu screamed at the top of his lungs.

I remained emotionless. I'd won the bet, he had to do whatever I wanted, and I wasn't about to crack anything to mess this up. It was _my_ time!

"There's still one ride I want us to go on." I gave him the most serious look I could make and he went silent.

"Uh...F-fine, what is it?" I thought I had seen a flash of pink run across his face, but maybe it was only my imagination.

"The Ferris Wheel." I pointed to the large spinning wheel that was now filled with light, due to the oncoming night fall. We'd spent almost the whole day here, and I must say it was kind of fun.

"I don't know..." Natsu put a hand on his stomach. I felt bad for making him sick, but I won! I was entitled to my prize!

"Don't worry about it, if you can last through all the rides you've been on today, I'm sure you can survive the Ferris wheel. It doesn't go fast, just up high is all." I explained to him. His face still held that worry and horror he had all day, but It didn't matter much now. He already lost...

"Fine..." He mumbled. I felt a smile tug at my face, but I held it down.

We headed for the line to get onto the ride. On the way I noticed Lucy and Loki also standing in the line for the Ferris wheel.

"Gray, Natsu!" Lucy waved us over.

"Are you two going on this ride next?" Lucy smiled. She seemed happy, but that was probably because Loki was there.

"Yeah, Gray won and now he's making me go on this stupid ride with him..." Natsu mumbled. He wasn't too happy that I was making him go on another ride, but _I won_! I'd just like to make that clear...Because it's true. I beat him.

"It's alright Natsu, hey how about you guys go with us!" Lucy suggested. I felt like slapping her for even inviting us to go with her and Loki, but I guess it wasn't her fault. She was being nice, and she didn't know my reason for making Natsu go on this ride.

I looked over at Loki, who didn't seem like he wanted us to go with them. I couldn't blame him. He liked Lucy, a lot. I didn't want them to join us either...Maybe we were only being selfish.

"Thanks Luce, but I don't want to throw up on you or Loki, I mean it might happen. It already has, except it was Gray..." Natsu grinned.

"Alright, oh and after the fair, you two should shower. You kind of smell bad." Lucy plugged her nose and laughed. Natsu did too; I chuckled a bit because it was true. That was the side effect of being thrown up on.

We gave them a little wave and headed for the back of the line. Through the wait, neither of us said much. It wasn't until we were on the ride that Natsu decided to question me.

"Alright Gray, why did you make me come on this ride? Are you only trying to make me sick again? Because if watching me be sick makes you happy then-

"Natsu I only wanted to talk..." I interpreted Natsu's speech of anger and accusations.

"Talk? About what?" Natsu's whole attitude changed. He sounded curious.

"About...us..." I looked away from him. He seemed confused.

"What about us?"

"Natsu I like you." I looked right at him. He stared back. There was still confusion in his eyes.

"I like you too Gray..." He said to my statement.

"No, Natsu...You don't get it. I _like_, like you." I admitted. Natsu leaned back in his seat. He was sitting on the other side of the bucket we were sitting in. The air seemed to pick up, but it wasn't because of some crazy dramatic fantasy reason. It was because we were at the highest point of the ride. The lights all around us seemed to flash brighter as I awaited his response.

"Gray...I...Don't know what to say..." Natsu's face was turning a little pink. I felt mine heat up, but I ignored it and focused on Natsu and only on him.

"Tell me what you think of it. How you feel...for me..." I waited again for him to speak. This time however his whole aura was different.

"Gray, I like you too...And I mean_ like_, like you." Natsu's eyes sparkled and his lips were shaped into a large smile. My heart started to beat loudly in my chest. I was unbelievably happy, so I returned the smile.

For the rest of the ride, we sat enjoying the comforting silence that fell between us; knowing fully-well that we no longer had to pretend to hate each other anymore. We were both free to admit we loved that other, well maybe not to the rest of our friends yet.

"Hey Gray," I heard Natsu break the silence as he stared off.

"Could you… umm," squirming before shifting his eyes uncomfortably, "maybe… possibly… sort of… umm… go on one more ride with me?" I had to hide the instant red that flooded my cheeks at the scene of him acting like a cute nervous school-girl.

"Sure… what ride would that be?" I slowly got up and sat down next to him.

Lucy was right; we both stink of vomit…

"That one," He replied, pointing to a ride that I had wished to go on with Natsu at some point: the Merry-go-Round!

"Any ride for you," I leaned in and kissed him gently; glad to have been finally given the opportunity to show him how much I love him.

Once we were back down, we raced over to our last ride; avoiding Erza, Lucy, and Loki who were waiting by the entrance for us. There wasn't a line so we were able to get right on; we sat towards the inside of the ride. I climbed onto a white horse, with a blue saddle and red ribbons painted on it, and quickly pulled Natsu onto my lap.

"What the hell, Gray?" He complained, obviously blushing about my actions.

"I just wanted to hold my _hot-headed dragon_ closer," I kissed his cheek affectionately, earning a bright blushing male about to turn to mush on my lap.

"Let's keep this to ourselves for a bit," Natsu muttered when the ride was over.

"Agreed," We walked back to our friends, acting like we use to until…

"Wanna hold hands?" I saw Natsu stretch his hands towards mine with a blush dusting his cheeks.

I grabbed his hands and walked him home; kissing his forehead before wishing him a good night… Lesson Learned: Ferris Wheels make great confession spots!

-The End-

**Authors' Notes:**

**Csilla/Steph: This was so much fun to write~! The ending is adorable~! =w=;; *glomps Kris* We're Team Chilling Ember! (NATGRAY/GRAYSU POWER!) *is a tad hyper* ... *shifty eyes* I DO NOT HAVE AN ADDICTION~! XD**

**moshe/Kris: **Steph, I'm still in Love with the Ending! I wish I had a Gray or Natsu to go to the Fair with! XD Yes, Team Chilling Ember!*Cheers* Wheee! We will over take All other FT pairings! Muwahahaha!...O.o heh...heh...Right...Sorry! XD****


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